NMI welcomes athletes with open arms

The first off-island athlete for the 2nd Micronesian Athletics Championships made a surprising appearance at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field Sunday evening, while all other visitors are expected to arrive today.

Palauan sprinter Ngerak Florencio, who has been training at the IAAF Regional Development Center in New Zealand, began familiarizing herself with the host facility Sunday. She is the only Micronesian training at the IAAF center.

“It’s really good, but hard though,” she said. “It’s good because I don’t have a choice…I have to go to training everyday. In Palau, I have a choice to go to training or not to go because I have a lot of peer pressure back home.”

The 22-year-old will compete in the 100m, 200m, and 400m and possibly a relay event. She recently broke the Palau national records in the 200m after crossing the finish line in 26.18 seconds, and 400m after clocking in at 62.67 seconds.

“I’ve improved a lot since went to New Zealand, and I look to set personal best times in 100m and 200m here,” she said.

Florencio, a former basketball player, said she first recognized her desire to be a track athlete in 1999 while being a spectator at the Oceania Championships, and finally picked up the sport in 2002.

“I was still really young and sitting on the bleachers and watching the runners and was like ‘my gosh, I wish I could be like one of these girls. But I was in basketball before and my coach recommended that I should try running.

Like NMI sprinter Darrel Roligat, Florencio also competed in the Palau South Pacific Mini Games and the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki over the summer.

Meanwhile, other athletes from Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia were scheduled to arrive at 8:30am this morning. The Guam delegation as well as the Oceania Council will arrive at 5:30pm, while the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and Nauru delegations are scheduled to arrive at 8:30pm this evening. All delegations will reside at the Aquarius Beach Tower Hotel.

All delegations will then take part in a technical meeting tomorrow morning at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium conference room.

The MAC, which will kick off tomorrow and conclude on Thursday, will open with the women’s high jump, men’s triple jump, and women’s hammer throw at 5pm.

An opening ceremony featuring a parade of delegations will then begin at 6pm and will also feature remarks from Northern Marianas Athletics president Kurt Barnes, Oceania Athletics Association president Ann Tierney, IAAF representative Bill Bailey, Mayor Juan B. Tudela, Gov. Juan N. Babauta, and Rep. Ray A. Tebuteb.

In related news, IAAF lecturer Dieter Massin conducted the first of a two-part seminar on Kids Athletics yesterday afternoon, with 16 instructors and coaches from various schools and organizations taking part.

Massin explained the importance of incorporating flexibility and creativity into training and activities in hopes of growing the sport.

“Kids Athletics is a mixed team event and lasts no more than two hours,” Massin said, citing that children tend to lose interest in activities lasting too long. “It must be anywhere practical and only needs space of 20-30 square meters, and anybody can take part.”

“Children have their own world, and our job as teacher and coaches is to keep these kids. If they learn athletics in a very good way, they will always come back,” he said while explaining that many individuals return to the sport over a decade after they first started.

“I think this was a really informative course that will benefit not only the kids, but the teachers and coaches as well,” said participant Ronald Olopai, who is also a member of the NMI delegation. “The kids will be motivated to exercise, and even the coaches and teachers will be motivated because its fun… different from traditional training.”

With their newly acquired knowledge, the instructors will join Massin as they host a Kids Athletics event today beginning at 3pm. The event features activities such as the soft javelin throw, rotation throw, pole flying, cross hopping, and sprint and hurdle, among many others.

Also, crewmembers of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. were busy working on the lighting system for the MAC, installing telephone poles at the site yesterday. The lights are expected to be ready today.

The NMA also extends its appreciation to generous sponsors such as Microl Corp., Wells Fargo, UMDA, Gov. Babauta, Rep. Tebuteb, and Mayor Tudela.